Local bus passenger journeys in Great Britain have decreased by 1%, to 4.79bn journeys, in the year to March 2019, compared with the previous year.
The Department for Transport (DfT)'s quarterly report says that bus use in England outside London in this period decreased by 0.7% to 2.11bn journeys, continuing the decline since 2009.
Meanwhile London bus use has declined by 1.2%, to 2.2bn journeys. However, London bus use is still 10% higher than in the year ending March 2007.
In Scotland, bus use decreased by 2.8% to 380 million journeys, but in Wales it increased by 3.2% – to 100 million journeys.
However, passenger numbers for Q1 2019 were higher than for Q1 2018, for the first time in five years.
Meanwhile bus fares have increased by 3.1% in Great Britain – and by 4.4% in England outside of London – in the last year, when the rate of inflation is 1.9%. The biggest fare increases were in English non-metropolitan areas.
Between March 2005 and March 2019, bus fares in England have increased by 77%, against an overall inflation rate of 38%.
On average, they have increased by 2.7% annually in that period, at a rate similar to rail fares.
But the DfT says the price of buying a vehicle has also increased by 2.7% annually, and the price of fuel by 2.9%.
